


A Lovely Journey

by WwolfJade123



Series: HoloEN Adventure Videogame AU [1]
Category: Hololive
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Prologue of a Future Series, RPG AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:42:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29584638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WwolfJade123/pseuds/WwolfJade123
Summary: With their strong curiosity to learn more about the world they live in, the five Creatures agreed to travel along side each other. They had travelled vast plains and steep mountain ranges, the more they are with each other the more fun they have.Now we follow their current journey to Ynarinma, sharing pieces of a whole story from each of their childhood.
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Series: HoloEN Adventure Videogame AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173551
Comments: 11
Kudos: 121





	1. The Red and Pink Girl

Looking from left to right, she surveyed their surroundings. Dried dirt underneath their feet, with cracks visible as the sun on the sky. One tree stood tall and dead by a cliff, that had the edge extended like a temporary roof for someone caught in a sandstorm.

The air was hot in the desert, hotter than it had been earlier now that the sun was at its highest peak. No clouds were in sight. This journey was long and painful.

Very long and painful in fact, that one of her companions seems to remind her every ten minutes or so. “It’s hot here…” The aquilian complains for the nth time, wiping another batch of sweat from her forehead.

Kiara sighs heavily, she turns to face her friend with a stern look. Gura backs away at the intense stare, it was rare for Kiara to get annoyed, “Did… was I annoying..?”

Amelia snickers behind her.

“Since you’re exhausted, we may as well stay here for the rest of the day.” Mori was quick to move and place the sacks by the bottom of the dead tree before opening her’s and the sack’s inventory.

Gura looks bewildered, as it should be. “Are you serious..? We’re… in the middle of nowhere-dessert!”

Kiara helps the reaper prepare their small campsite and opens her inventory to give Calli some helpful tools. “Don’t be so surprised, Gura. You should’ve known we’ll be staying for a night of three in the desert.” Ina walks over to hand Calli the parts of the tent’s material they had.

The aqualian sighed defeatedly. Seeing her state, Amelia couldn’t help and gave her a small pat on the head. Smiling down at her as she always does when it comes to comforting her, “You’re doing great, Gura.”

Pink tinted her cheeks and she chuckles shakily, batting Ame’s hand away from her head and walks toward the others to help set up camp while muttering, “Sheesh, since when were you so sentimental, Watson.” To which Amelia simply shakes her head fondly.

As soon as the sun set, the camp was finished. One big tent was constructed under the cliff, using it’s extended reach for their advantage, their packs safely secured inside the tent. Three half trunks were placed evenly around the campfire where Kiara was cooking their dinner, Gura watching in some sort of fascination as their food started to shape like one.

Ina chuckles at her expression and sits next to her. From the way she was stroking her tail to calm down, it was clear she had the urge to pounce and eat all of the food, yet she was trying her hardest to calm down.

At that, Ina hands Gura a loaf of bread as a silent praise. Gura happily accepted and began chomping on it slowly, still continuing to stare at the cooking.

“Oof-!” The priestess expressed when she felt a heavyweight weigh on her shoulders. She turns her head to look, only to angrily pout when she sees a familiar watch hang down the side.

Kiara brings the ladle to her mouth and blows softly, she hears rustling beside her and chooses to ignore it for now to taste their dinner. She closes her eyes. It was tasty, as she had anticipated. She grabs another small portion and motions it for Calli to taste.

The shadowling knew the protocol and readied herself, tucking some strands of her hair behind her ear and blew at the hot ladle before closing her eyes to take a taste.

Kiara smiles to herself hearing the pleasant hum her partner let out of her cooking. “Alright, dinner will be ready in a moment. After Dinner will be Story Time~!”

===

Everyone had just finished eating their fill.

“Wow… the interior is very big…” Amelia mused as she stared at the rather far away ceiling, Gura flopping down beside her to look as well then nodding.

“Would you prefer a smaller tent?” Ina asks, dropping a pillow on the girl’s face earning a light glare in return.

Ame hugs the pillow to her chest and continues to stare at the ceiling, thinking of an answer for the not serious question, as she always is. She shrugs, “Meh. I like it this way. Makes me feel cozy.”

The zipper of the tent opens and Calli enters, “Has everybody done their Evening Rituals?” With a nod from the others, Calli zips the tent close and uses a small spell to lock it. Now they should be a tad bit safe from monsters.

Gura sits up, a yellow blanket wrapped around her shoulders, expression grinning from ear to ear. “Story Time!”

“What kind of story are we telling today, Ina?” Kiara asks, moving more toward Calli’s side of the tent. The shadow was too exhausted to notice.

The priestess closes her eyes and hums thoughtfully, Kiara picks someone at random to give them a topic for their story time. It was a fun game, especially when something cool happens in their adventures and all of them wanted to recall the story and shape it as their own.

A smile sneaks to her face and she says, “How about stories of our childhood?”

Amelia chokes on her water.

“That’ll take us three days to finish…” Kiara comments, her gaze instinctively landing on Calli. She smiles softly, without another word she grabs Calli’s arm. The shadowling replies with leaning her head on Kiara’s shoulder. Sleepy Calli was the best Calli in Kiara’s opinion.

“I don’t have a childhood.” Ame lies.

“Just say you’re too embarrassed to tell us your diaper days and we’ll all go our merry way.” Gura hisses when Ame gives her cheek a small pinch. “Owie…” she said as she rubs her pinched cheek.

“Okay then… How about we tell the story of when we met one another?” Ina’s gaze instinctively falls upon the sleepy shadowling and her heater, “Why don’t you two start?”

The attention diverted to the pair. Kiara’s cheeks blossomed pink, the other three smirking at the position she and Calli were in, “Well… that’s not my story to tell.” She moves her shoulder a little bit, “Calli will you do the honours?”

“Hmm? Oh sure…”

===

A foul stench hung in the humid air, it almost made Mori vomit at the smell. The walls of the cave were painted with some kind of goo that she wasn’t about to try and find out. The more she looked at it, the more she thought this place was ugly.

Turning from left to right, she finds splotches of burned marks and fading blaze bits littering the walls, confirming her theory that some creature associated with fire had settled in this… mess of a cave. There was no turning back now, she had to satisfy her curiosity or she’ll be bugged for the next week.

One step inside and she heard a noise. Her hand flew to the handle of her makeshift scythe and stood completely still. Nothing happened for a few seconds which made the shadowling relax.

She should have told her siblings where she was headed, was her distant thought while going more into this cave. Too late for that now. The rotting scent seemed to slowly fade the more she went in, meaning that there was something lying dead by the entrance this creature killed. A shiver ran down her spine, what she’s doing was extremely dangerous she now realised.

Mori drew her scythe.

She took a big inhale and adjusted her grip before heading deeper. She was about to turn back, feeling a little disappointed that she didn’t find out what kind of creature this was only to stop in her tracks and a warm breeze passed her.

The direction came from the right. Mori squints and in a faulty night vision, she finds more of those blaze particles on the floor, she switches back to her normal vision and finds a faint orange glow by the end of this long tunnel.

Slowly, the shadowling made her way there. There wasn’t much noise being made from her and this glowing source, the silence fed Calli’s paranoid side, telling her rational one that this was a trap being set up by those Kayelan of the nearby Kingdom, the ones that were openly hunting shadowlings for their unique technique and selling them for a fortune.

A soft snap. That was the first thing her ears picked up after moments of silence. The sound confuses her, it almost sounded like the blazing fire that danced in the night of their Gatherings, the ones that always seem to captivate Mori of their beauty.

She reached the corners and her eyes widened when she saw a girl silently crying by the corner. Bruises littering her skin while her hair…

Her hair danced like the flame of a campfire. It looked beautiful. She looked beautiful. Mori didn’t even realise and before she knew it, she was standing in front of the flaming red girl, staring at her.

The red girl stifled a gasp through her silent sobs. Fear and panic filled her eyes, the girl backpedaled afraid that if she took her eyes off of Mori, she would hit her. The red girl covers her body with her small arms.

The sight made her heart squeeze.

Mori reaches her hand, “Hey…” She whispered. The red girl whimpered, the sound trembling with a plea. “It’s alright, I won’t hurt you…” Mori opens a hand to the red girl and she flashes an uncertain smile her way.

The red girl lowered her arms and that’s when Mori finds herself getting lost in her magenta eyes that also had the same dance of grace with her hair. She looked uncertain, glancing from her hand to her face looking for some kind of deception. Mori’s smile becomes a little more awkward and she takes her hand back to inspect it and finds some sweat glands, she shrugs and wipes her palm on the fabric of her pants then hands it to the red girl again.

She chuckles a little at her own actions, “I wiped my hand. Now you also won’t have to worry about getting some kind of poison or virus from me.”

Red girl surprises Calliope with a snort. She covers her mouth at her own sound, red slowly tainting her cheeks in embarrassment.

Mori smirks, “That was cute. My name is Calliope Mori by the way.” She said, bringing her hand back to her side. With a huff, she sat down across from the red girl with a curious look. “I was training when I saw the flames from a distance. Was that yours?”

Uncertain, the red girl looks to the side then back at Mori. Though she didn’t look the least frightened by Mori’s presence, she was clearly nervous with how she fiddled with her fingers. Red girl nods shyly.

A thoughtful hum leaves Mori’s lips. “I see… was that your trait?” Once again, the girl nods. “Wow. That’s one powerful trait. Do… do you have a name?”

“...iara…”

“What was that? Did you just say something?”

Red girl turns to look at the wall by her side as she hides half of her face. “Takanashi Kiara…” she says.

“Okay, Kiara. I have one question.” Kiara nods. “Why is your hair all glowy like that? Is that part of your fire trait as well?” 

“I… don’t know?” Calliope looks at her with a confused look, prodding her to explain further. “Well… a trait is something you slowly gain by age. Mine has been with me since birth… it’s kinda hard to explain.?”

“Woah, cool. I wish mine was also with me since that time. Until now I still don’t have my trait.” Mori sheepishly rubs the back of her head, her age was where a lot of the children already have manifested their traits. Since she was a late bloomer just like her Father, she kinda understood. Kinda.

Kiara nods in understanding. Her gaze falls down to the crooked-like sword Mori held in one of her hands. She points at it and looks back at the girl, “What’s that?”

Mori brings the weapon to eye-level. “This is a… make-shift scythe.”

“Scythe?!” The girl covers her mouth as a laugh breaks through her. Mori couldn’t judge because she knew that this piece of junk looks nothing like a scythe. “I’m sorry!.. A scythe… pft-”

“Yeah it looks nothing like one I know.” Mori chuckles, “But it’s the only thing keeping me busy these days.”

Kiara stops when she notices the rather fond look Calliope gives her weapon. “So you want to be someone like the Grim Reaper in the legends?”

“No, that dream’s impossible. I wouldn’t want to live for eternity just taking people’s souls.” Kiara gives her a curious look. That look made Calli feel a bit heard and she continued softly, “...my dream is actually to be a Knight.” Though her voice was soft, her tone was dripping with pride. “What about you, do you have something in mind when you grow up?”

The red girl ponders, “I…” She threw her hands up, surprising Mori at the sudden action. Kiara smiles widely. “I’ll also be a Knight with you, Calliope!”

“Awesome! We’ll be knight buddies then.”

The two children spent the rest of the afternoon talking about how cool weapons and knights were. Calli showing off some skills she learned while training, and Kiara who shows off a small trick she learned.

Mori was left in awe at the dancing flame in Kiara’s hands. Two people danced slowly, the other twirled their partner and then continued dancing. She glances at Kiara with a smile, Mori stands and holds out a hand for her.

She hands Kiara her weapon and stands behind the girl. She whispered instructions on her ear, opting for safety as she taught Kiara how to swing it the proper way. Guiding her some ways to swing it with most force and safety.

Their happy voices echo in the cave. Mori liked her presence, she was energetic and curious, just enough that she couldn’t help but broach more and more about different types of subjects.

“I never knew you could make your own weapon…” Kiara said. “The orphanage never really allowed any kind of weapons.”

Mori looks at Kiara, “You live in an orphanage?”

“Uhh… yeah.” She said, “Weapons were not allowed. Heck, we have to use our hands to eat because my district is so strict on rules.” Kiara puffs her chest and clears her throat, “‘Forks and Spoons are not allowed. Forks can stab you while Spoons can gauge out your eyes’.”

“Pft-” Mori chuckles. “Even the younger ones get that exact phrase?” Kiara shrugs, “Isn’t that a bit too graphic?”

“When someone’s paranoid, I don’t think they realise that.”

“True.”

The two perked up at the sound of a wolf’s howl.

Mori stands. “Welp, that’s my cue.”

“What do you mean? It’s just a howl. They’re probably just finding their pack.”

“Uhh… my parents have worrying methods of calling me home. Don’t ask why, it’s like a family tradition.” Calliope says with a chuckle. “Come on, we better go before I get reported missing or kidnapped.”

“Lol.” Kiara pats the dust off of her.

Mori glances at the bruises at Kiara’s arms, “Hey…” She looks up, curious to what she might say. Mori hesitates but she doesn’t back down, “How are your bruises? If they hurt I know some herbs that might help ‘em heal.”

Kiara glances at her wounds, “Oh, they sting a little when I move.” She said.

“Okay that’s…” She trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

The action made Kiara giggle. “What herbs do you use, Calli?”

Her face lights up at the question, it was cute how hesitant Mori seems and how her face just radiates happiness when the other person knows what she wants. 

Mori instructed her about the multiple herbs she can gather and how each one should be converted into medicine. Her mother loved plants, herbs were something the Calliope Household knew the basics of.

The two children then walked outside, their conversation turned into an entirely different subject.

“Mori!”

At the call of her name, Calli turns to the direction to find her Mother walking toward them. She smiled at her and motions Kiara to her.

Val pats Calli’s head, “It’s already pass sundown. We were worried you walked off to practice with that rusted junk again and injure yourself.” Val cooed, “Are you injured? Where does it hurt?”

Mori pushes her way off of her mother with a pout and an embarrassed flush. “I’m fine, Mom! No injuries. I just saw something while I was training.”

“Ha! I was right again, your Father has some words for you, Young lady. You know very well that a student cannot have a weapon when they still haven’t manifested their trait because of the dangers it might bring.” Val grabs Mori’s face and makes the already embarrassed shadowling look at her. “Promise me you’ll stop training until you get your trait.”

A scoff escaped the back of Mori’s throat, “I can’t promise you that, Mother.”

Val simply sighed heavily at her daughter’s stubbornness. She turned to the side and raised an eyebrow at the orange-teal haired girl standing there awkwardly. “Do you need something, child?”

Kiara flinches and bows her head slightly. “H-hello, Calli’s Mom-miss!”

Mori walks to her side and places a hand on Kiara’s shoulder, she smiles softly at Kiara and turns to her mom, “Mom, meet Kiara a new friend of mine. Kiara meet my Mom.”

She holds her hand out, Val shakes it warrily. “It’s nice to meet you, Auntie…”

“Nice to meet you too, Kiara.” Val clears her throat, “I have a question for you.” Mori shakes her head at her while Kiara enthusiastically nods. “How did you meet my daughter?”

“I was the something Calli saw.”

===

“...and that’s how we met.”

The other three tried their best to hold their laughs at the last statement. No matter what age, Kiara will always be Kiara.


	2. Lady Ina'nis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Lady Ina'nis, youngest daughter of the Ninomae Clan of the South.

Calli’s blush was still evident even as the attention was diverted and on to the next subject. She knows they’re simply joking around, but when Kiara also jumped on board and started her ‘joke-flirt’ everything in her mind screamed ‘too gay, gotta run away’.

That one wink here, the fancy way of calling her name and the very cringy lines that came next. Oh well, this was her best friend, no surprise there. But her heart just couldn’t slow down the tempo it’s beating

“If I remember correctly… Ina, you’ve met them for a few years now huh?” Amelia says, turning to the surprised priestess. Though Ina had already told them the brief history of how each other met, it seems someone still wanted to know it by the last detail. It’s a little scary especially when she uses this knowledge in the future at a very random time.

Ina nods, bringing the hot cup of milk to her lips and taking a small sip before replying. “Yeah. Though I think I met Kiara first before Calli…”

“Woah, I never knew that. Why didn’t no one tell me that those three already know each other in their teenage years?” Gura asks, sipping on her own cup of hot milk with an adorable pout, “That’s just unfair.”

Kiara chuckles, “The way Ina and I met isn’t really one of the most interesting..”

“Why'd ya say that? You didn’t flirt with her in front of Calli to make her jealous did you?” Ame points an accusing finger her way. This was what Gura calls Amelia’s ‘detective mode’ where she just lets her intuition and curiosity take over.

“No… I didn’t do that to Ina…”

“It may be likely but... Kiara and I didn’t meet that way.” Ina resisted the urge to start chuckling at the unusual expression Kiara has. This Story Time will go down memory lane as one of the most memorable.

Excitedly, the Aqualian sits up, “Kiara’s telling another story~!” Her tail started moving on it’s own accord, slowly annoying Amelia with how it repeatedly hit her side.

“I wouldn’t mind telling how we met. My story will kinda link with their story.” Ina mumbles, watching closely as Amelia pounces on Gura’s tail, glaring at it and holding it with all of her strength. Gura nods happily, agreeing to have another story before going to sleep.

The girl whines and decides to place her whole body on top of the bulldozing tail. Giving up. “Take it away, Lady Ninomae.”

Kiara nods, dealing with her rather sleepy problem, a name that starts with a ‘c’. “My family had a gathering one day…”

===

The cherry blossoms fall gracefully.

Ina’s thoughts were filled with awe of everything around her. The water that ebbs and flows from a distance that when she closes her eyes, she feels as if the liquid was surrounding her, enveloping her and letting her fall in a sweet despair. The wooden planks under her feet, that creaks with the littlest move she does.

Her household was silent. But she could never deny how it made her feel loved and warm, how her family seems to be there the minute she just as much as frowns, helps her face her problems. It doesn’t even take long for Ina to begin smiling.

Her smile. She’d heard from one of the guests that she had one of the most unique smiles as they say, she can disagree but she knows enough to tell that nothing can change their minds.

“Ina~” Her ear twitched at the call of her name, she looked over her shoulder and gave her older sister a small smile. Nee sighed blissfully at the sight of her, “Gosh, you’re so adorable sometimes, Ina…”

“So I’ve heard.” She replies with a giggle, turning back to look at the leaves falling peacefully.

A small tingle runs down her spine when she feels her sister begin fixing her hair, being careful with the ears that twitched more than Ina would like to.

Nee runs the brush gently on her hair, silently marvelling how well-kept it was. “So, Ina. How do you feel about the Meet?”

Ina hums, “I hope I get a grimoire that suits me. Something that I–”

“No, not about the whole ‘choosing one’s destiny’. I’ve already had enough of all that jazz, I meant you. How are you, Ina? How’s my little sister been doing, cooped up in her room for weeks.” Nee grabs Ina’s chin and guides her to her eyes, her purple eyes shining with worry.

This was why she loved her family. They may be super busy all the time, but all of them made sure she was living happily. “I’m alright, Unnie.”

“I trust your judgement.” Nee smiles and stands, holding out her hand for her sister to take. “The Meet will begin when Sunce’s sun reaches its highest peak. Have you eaten?”

Ina shakes her head, “A meal sounds nice right now.”

Nee nuzzles her cheek on Ina’s, “But a meal with Unnie sounds even better! Let’s go!”

A meal with Nee definitely sounded even better.

Sunce’s sun moved as if it was trying it’s best to disrupt the fun she and Nee were having because in just a blink of an eye, the Meet was about to begin in a matter of minutes.

Nee hurriedly places Ina’s shoal over her shoulders and places a sweet kiss on her temple before leading her to the monument.

The elders sat respectfully, while Ina’s mother and father smiled down at her as she and Nee walked down the red path.

The altar loomed over them, the structure was probably bigger than this house in its entirety. Looking up hurts her neck, but despite all that, this was where her journey as a priestess started.

Ina bows before her parents, Nee already scurrying off to the side and sitting beside an elder. She gave Ina one last smile before pulling off a poker face.

“Rise, Ina.”

At the voice of her father, Ina rose with her head held high.

“We are gathered here today, to celebrate the coming of age my youngest daughter, Ninomae Ina’nis.” He smiles proud. “Today we are to witness the choosing of her grimoire and trait. The choice of her future.”

A wave of hums passed the whole monument.

The acknowledgement brings a blush to Ina’s cheeks. The elders were strict due to the codes written in their own Clan Index, the future that was chosen for them and only for them. It was such an honour to be at the receiving ends of their hums.

With a wave from her mother, Ina begins her trek up the stairs. Her gaze trained at the altar in front of her. The Ancient Ones’ presence vibrated off of the bronze structure, the hair on her arms standing from an immense amount of raw energy.

Her Mother smiles kindly while her Father was resisting the urge to give her the usual head pat of appreciation. Ina’s heart skipped a beat, her family was here. They were here, as they always have been. Her smile widens, she would love to repay her parents and sister of the joy and freedom they’d given her.

A loud bang echoes, “The Meet will now begin!” Chief Ninomae announced to the crowd, “Ina, place your hand on the altar.”

“Child… we have been waiting for this moment…” The voice vibrated their insides, it came from everywhere. There they are, the Ancient Ones.

Ina smiles and closes her eyes. She had a very unique relationship with the Ancient Ones, from the day she was born, her Mother had always told her about the sensation she felt when she was in her arms. There were no words to describe it, she always says.

She breathes out slowly, “Oh Ancient Ones… I am Ninomae Ina’nis of the South Ninomae Clan. Bestow your power upon me, lend me the will to continue on this journey of life.” She recites, knowing the prayer by heart with the times she’d always practice.

They chuckled, “Dear, Ina’nis. There is no need for formal introductions, we’ve crossed that line a long time ago.”

The elders were surprised at the carefree tone of the Absolute, as if they’d known Ina for thousands and thousands of years.Yes they have already witnessed this type of behaviour coming from the Ancient yet it still was a pleasant surprise.

“Let’s get on with the show!”

Ina bows her head, “I’ll be in your care.”

A bright light opens above the rooftops and a book follows in suit. Ina looks up and reaches her arms to hold her grimoire for the first time. The girl was left in awe at the book in her arms, though it was much bigger than her stature. The weight was as light as a leaf.

She feels something warm press against her head and turns to look at who it was. Her eyes widen at the sight of the altar glowing the same colour as her eyes.

“Ina… your future is full of amazing adventures. There are people around the world that will love you. You’re a strong girl, Ina. Be an Adventurer…”

And with those last words, the glowing of the altar ceased.

The chief’s smile slowly took place and in excitement, he ran to his daughter and locked her in a side hug. “Thank you all for witnessing my youngest’s Meet! The food will arrive in thirty minutes!”

A steady murmur falls upon the crowd.

Satisfied that his guests were alright with waiting, he turned to his daughter with teary eyes, “My baby girl’s growing up so fast…”

“Aww~ am I not your baby anymore, Pa?” Nee ran up the altar to throw her arms around their father with a pout. The chief lets out a booming laughter, reaching behind him to ruffle her hair and tell her about the things that didn’t make her a baby.

Ina looked over her shoulder feeling a familiar set of hands on her shoulders, smiling softly when she found her mother's gaze on her.

This was nice.

BOOOOOOM!

Well until something, anything decided to ruin it.

“Chief!” Her Father straightened his back and nodded for them to report, “Somethin’ burnin fell from the ska’h! Made a real big boom by the caterin’! The guards ‘er already surroundin the thing, nothin’eems to be happenin but we’re cautious.”

“Good.” He turns to his family, “Shall we?”

Without another word, the Ninomae began to rush to the Cater.

It didn’t take long for them to arrive. There was still a trail of smoke that floated up the sky, a crater a little too deep formed and a body that almost seemed like a human was in the middle of it, letting out strange noises that Ina thought were close to groans.

The grimoires of the guard floated a little high, ready to fire their spells when the body moved. Her Father’s signal was the one that kept the thing alive for now.

It looked around, “Huh?!” It exclaimed and all of the guards stiffened. “CALLI?!” She called out, the smoke around her started to disperse and only then did she notice the spells ready to be casted her way. The girl stiffened. “Ehh..?”

“State your purpose.”

“I… come in peace?” The magic starts gathering from the tips of the guard’s fingers and the orange-teal haired girl squeals. “I was blown away while I was training with someone! I swear I didn’t come to cause any harm!! Just help me find my way back to Diŕlevoùr!”

The family tilts their heads, “Diŕlevoùr?” They asked in unison.

“How are you here from Diŕlevoùr?” Nee asked, clearly bewildered by the amount of strength the person who blew her all the way to the South.

“Calli hits hard sometimes…” Kiara sits down with a sigh, “Don’t worry though. I’ll be gone for about… thirty minutes. She can’t resist ignoring me for too long.” She waves them all away, “No need to worry about me. You can all go your merry ways.”

“KUSOTORI!”

“MeEP!” Mist envelops the girl. The guards began readying their magic to shoot at any moment. Seeing this, Kiara was quick to shake her head and hands their way. “Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!” She grabs something and pulls hard, revealing a pink haired girl glaring angrily at the people around them. “Calli~”

The girl, who’s name was Calli, turns sharply at the other girl. “What?” She hissed harshly, yet her expression softens when she meets the woman’s eyes. Her shoulders sag and she pulls the orange girl in for a hug. “I was worried something happened… I’m sorry.”

“There there.”

Ina’s father sighed, “Well that… was unexpected.”

===

“WHY WAS I DESCRIBED THAT WAY?!” Kiara shreeks, the others had to cover their ears at the very loud and high sound. Kiara’s cheeks and hair were burning red, and she was trying her hardest to hide it by covering her face with one hand.

Ina chuckles, “I’m sorry, Kiara but that’s what I thought when I first saw you…” She points at the companion next to her, “And uh… looks like someone’s about to go head first into DreamLand.”

Kiara turns to her side and her whole body melts when she sees Calli trying her hardest to keep awake. She extends her legs and pats her lap, without another word, the normally tsundere Calli placed her head on Kiara’s lap, snuggling comfortably as Kiara places a blanket over her.

She starts absentmindedly stroking her hair, “I think it’s time we go to sleep huh?”

Gura hits her pillow, “One more! The minimum storytime is 3, we haven’t met the conditions of holding this!”

“I guess that means one more.” Ina and Ame said. The two glanced at each other and smirked. “Then…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh lol, I didn't expect this to gain comments ;w;  
> This is what I use to help me concentrate btw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KevIJ3DHMKc&t=7s
> 
> Also tell me your thoughts of Lady Ninomae Ina'nis of the South Ninomae Clan!


	3. The Watsons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two down three to go. Ina and Ame tells Gura a small story about the Watsons and how the priestess got ahold of her.

Kiara sighs defeatedly, “Do what you do… I think it’s time for the two of us to hit the pillows.” She says through a yawn, Calli reciprocating.

“Sure sure. It’s not like this will be the last time you’ll be hearing this story from me.” Amelia says and puffs her chest proudly. This story must have a ton of ups and downs huh. She turns to Gura, “Are you ready?”

The aqualian was already underneath her blanket, looking at Ina and her with hopeful eyes. She was using her tail as a cuddle buddy, opting for warmth as she slept. It was cute, they all thought when they saw her. In fact, Gura was the embodiment of cute.

Calli sits up from her comfortable lap pillow, “Don’t be loud…” She mumbled, following Kiara to the other side of the tent sluggishly. There was something Kiara placed in one of her ears.

Small mumbles echoes from the two, already dead as a light.

Ina chuckles at the sight.

“So the story begins…”

===

Watson. The surname was rather famous around the City of Ťrivalë. Dozens and dozens of stories to discover and tell for years to come. 

Some stories describe the family as ‘Ones that Hold the Answers’ with their vast knowledge of the past, present and future, while some describe the opposite, telling stories of how they were the ‘Bringer of Conflict’.

There was some evidence that would support these stories, the branches of the bloodline too wide for people to record. But among those stories, there was one in particular that most of the people believed.

Watsons were a form of God.

The Watsons were looked up to from children to the elder. Stories of their family containing the ability to seek out knowledge. It was such a huge rave in the City of Ťrivalë that there were some that made this story some kind of religion.

‘Stupid stories…’ Amelia vaulted over an apple cart, pushing the fruits with her feet just so she could fit. Looking over her shoulder, her annoyance grew to see three people still chasing her.

Amelia Watson. The only daughter of the late Cris Watson and Terressa Watson, or as the townsfolk always say, The girl who carries the most knowledge.

While it was true, Amelia had knowledge but it wasn’t that kind of knowledge. This made the blonde girl’s life a little more difficult due to these rumours. She was always the target of the religion formed from them and it annoys her to the bone how they all were so desperate to be in the same room as her.

She opens her inventory and reaches her hand inside. A wall was coming in front of her. With a smirk, Amelia pats her boots and spikes appeared on the bottom, she turns around to throw the items she’d got from her inventory.

Smoke formed around them. She didn’t hesitate to turn around and began climbing the wall, landing on the other side, calmly as she tips her hat over her eyes as some type of disguise.

‘Finally…’ she thought with a sigh. Amelia fished her silver pocket watch from her pockets and she was disappointed to see what time it was. ‘If only they would stop bothering me for three days…’

The sky was beautiful. It was always beautiful by sunset, something about how purple and blue compliment each other perfectly made something inside Amelia long for something. And each and every day, she thinks of what it is that was missing…

With a rhythmic knock on the door frame, Amelia lets herself in, throwing her hat somewhere and shrugging off her black cloak.

She flops to the couch with a sound and sighed blissfully. “I’m home!” She calls out. Not a second passed, hurried footsteps echoed through the small household.

“Welcome home, sunshine!” Her uncle greets, going over to her and gives her hair a little ruffle.

Amelia watches her Uncle enter the kitchen from the corner of her eyes before closing them, exhausted running around the huge city. “What’s for dinner?”

“Who says you get to eat?” Amelia groans. Tristan laughs at his niece’s reaction, “We’ll be having the Watson Traditional steak!”

If Amelia had ears, it would be tipped at its highest by what Tristan announced. “Steak? The Family Steak?” She jumps off the couch and enters the living room, eyeing the old man suspiciously. “Are people coming over?”

“Nope. But there is something I wanna talk to you about.”

“So this is all just bribery.” She says plainly. Tristan simply shrugs and goes back into his work. He was always the type to keep things to himself unless it’s really needed. With this knowledge, Amelia rolls her eyes, “Do whatever you want, Old Man.”

“Hey! I’m 29!” She shakes her head at the complaint.

Bribery huh. It made her wonder what kind of subject he was going to ask of her to do. Maybe a heist or rescuing some princess from her ‘eternal tower’. She shudders, she had already rescued a ‘princess’ before and it didn’t really end well for her.

Her hand came down to touch the hidden scar on her waist.

With a sigh, Amelia goes back inside the Kitchen to grab the plates and utensils, not paying her Uncle attention.

She wonders what tomorrow might be. How it will affect her stressful life. It will probably be the same as always, doing her chores while getting spied by at least ten people from very far, salivating at the mere sight of her.

Nothing will change, because she isn’t going to do anything that’ll change it. Her life was plain and didn’t bring her danger, she was safe, she and her Uncle were safe and away from danger. Her bloodline could survive.

The steak was delicious. Her Uncle cooked food like he was some high-class chef, everything she ate from him was above average and didn’t make her cold nights boring.

Her Uncle was also a great conversationalist. Knows how to press her buttons and piss her off, or guide her to a calming conversation. It was fun. She loves her Uncle. She loves him so much that she vowed to protect him at all costs.

So when their eyes met and all she saw was anxiousness, it made her feel somewhat uneasy. He still had the charm to talk to her like there’s nothing wrong, but she knows, she always knows when there’s something that’s on his mind. He may be the best of almost everything, but Amelia knows well that he cannot hide his emotions.

After she finished a part of her food, she sighs. “What is it you wanted to talk about?” She asks, eyes focused on how she cuts the meat.

She can feel the anxiousness ooze out of his aura.

She knew he wasn’t going to say anything. With a sigh, she asks again. “Just spit it out, Old Man. What is it?”

Tristan chuckles sheepishly, “Fine fine, I’ll tell you.”

“As you should.”

He glares at that response but turns back into an anxious mess. “Well…” His hand comes to rub the back of his head, “The thing is…” Ame opens her mouth threateningly, “Someone wrote a letter for you.”

Amelia quickly closed her mouth.

“..what..?” She asks in a soft voice, hands gripping her utensils tightly.

He grabs said letter from his pocket and gives it to the girl. Though unsure, Ame still accepted and broke the familiar seal. “The South Ninomae Clan wants to have a chat with you…”

She stopped reading when she heard the name, “So you mean…”

“The Ancient Ones are also ‘interested’ in our family matters.” He stands to grab both of their empty plates. As he went to the kitchen and washed his hands, the two remained silent. Amelia focused on reading the letter while Tristan washes the dishes.

He hears a sigh from his niece, “What does it say?” He asks, placing the plates back to where they belong.

“They want me to meet them at Dawn by the Port.” She looks up just as he comes back from the kitchen. The two exchange a long stare. “What should I do? It’s the Chief’s Youngest that wanted to see me.”

His eyebrows rose, “Lady Ina’nis wants to see you?” Amelia nods to the paper, “Damn… well, we don’t have a choice but find out what they want. If it’s Lady Ina’nis, then it’s likely you did something to the timeline again.”

Amelia glares his way, “Oi, you would know if I ever grab that old watch of yours. It’s like you’ve got some kind of connection to it.”

He shows off said watch, “Well in this family, I can’t say for sure that I’m the only one that has access to this watch. You can control this as powerful as I can, y’know?”

“Psh! But I tell you it isn’t about the timeline.” He concedes, sitting back down in his seat, thinking.

Amelia sighs, “Guess I have no choice huh…”

“Good luck on that, kid.”

“Thanks, Old Man.”

She never liked the cold. That much was obvious with how many layers she dresses in Midday, and Dawn by Fall is definitely a no-no in her book.

Luckily for her, she didn’t have to wait that long.

“Amelia Watson?” At the call of her name, she looked over her shoulder and her eyes met with hers. “Wow… I didn’t think you’d come meet me.”

“It’s not like I have any other choice huh?”

===

“And then I told Amelia that someone was looking for her. I know you already know that part don’t you, Gura?” Ina muses at the sleepy aqualian.

Gura nods, curling more into herself. “I was looking for Ame…”

“Why is that? I never knew the reason.” Ina was about to answer, only to stop herself when both Ame and Gura exchanged a yawn. She chuckles under her breath, “But it seems that would be a story for another time. Lets get some rest for tonight…”

“‘kay…”


	4. Washed up Shore!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which, we find out the reason why Gura was looking for Ame... kinda

Amelia wipes the sweat off of her forehead, it was a good thing she decided to take off her coat.  _ This  _ is the kind of heat she couldn’t handle. Damn was it so hot, she felt like she was about to get buried alive.

Peeking through her fingers, she watches the rest of the crew decimate the monsters in their way. Both Calli and Ina looked unfazed at the temperature, not even breaking a sweat as they withdrew their weapons and scout their surroundings. Kiara looks a little uneasy. And then there was Gura…

The poor aqualian looks like she was a dying fish. She’d taken off most of her clothing, with just a sleeveless and her pyjamas on, yet she was still sweating profusely.

There were pros and cons about her current outfit. The pro was how it showcased the lean muscle on her arms as she whirls and slashes her trident while the con was her lack of protection, putting a negative on her defensive status.

With a sigh, Ame removes her hat and walks over to Gura. Without warning, she forcefully equips her hat on the girl. Gura cranks her head up to catch her eyes.

Amelia smiles down, “Thought you might need somethin’ to protect that pretty face of yours from the sun.” The three up front began moving, “Don’t thank me yet. If you lose that, no cuddles and head pats for you.”

“Ame!”

She looks over her shoulder at the call of her name. Before she knew it, black enveloped her vision and a weight weighed heavy on her face. She tried her best to maintain balance.

“Thank you so much, Ame~!”

Amelia pries the aqualian off of her face, “Guraa! Stop that! Do you wanna get left behind?” The girl answered her question with an innocent face. She sighs, “Fine, you can stay on my shoulders, but there will be one condition.”

The two quickly placed themselves in a more comfortable position while Amelia tried her best to catch up to the three who were impatiently waiting for them to match their pace.

Gura comfortably places her chin on her head, her eyes already fluttering close, “Sure, whatever you say, Watson...”

Happy with the consent, she walks a little faster. They got a few looks here and there, all of them teasing, but she didn’t really care that much. She had one request since last night, and she was excited for this request to be fulfilled.

~

“Behind!” Ina shouts.

Calli appeared right behind the wolf and took a swing. The monster dissipated, dropping a few items to which Amelia picks and inspects.  She gave Calli an okay and the reaper went back to help the fight.

“Watson! Where are you?!”

Amelia sighs, fishing out her karambits and closing her eyes. Her right hand slowly became translucent and her surroundings came to a stop.

She did her work quickly, jumping over a rock and slitting the throats of three wolves that were ganging up on her aqualian. As soon as she lands, time goes back to normal, the wolves already fizzling smoke and remains.

A growl escapes the back of her throat when she hears a small giggle behind her. “Gura…” She warns.

The aqualian waves her away, “Sorry sorry~. I wasn’t expecting you to act so quickly.”

Amelia scoffs, “If I didn’t, who knows what’ll happen to our precious little princess~” She retorted, running toward the other direction to collect the droppings.

She smirked a little hearing Gura’s squabble.

“We’re in the middle of a battle, you two!” Kiara shouts, landing beside Calli who had just killed at least five more beasts. “Stop the flirting!” She adds, gratefully accepting the mana potions Calli threw her way.

Amelia rolls her eyes, “Says that girl that pounces on her wife every minute she gets…”

“What was that?!”

“Nothing! Focus on your own side,  _ MOM _ !”

Kiara slides right in front of her, two wolves impaled on her sword. She lands in front of Amelia to boop her nose, “Don’t use the Mom Card in the middle of battle.”

Golden flames appeared behind Kiara and she began flying away.

“Ina! How are we doing?” Calli calls out, wiping off the dirt on her shoulder.

The priestess’ eyes shift to a deep blue. She points at the direction of where Kiara was fending off ten flying Hycros, “Just those ten left and we’ll be fine from there.”

Gura appears upside down beside Kiara. The aqualian gave her a toothy grin as she let her tail swing freely with her trident.  She tilts her head when their eyes meet, “Hey, Kiara. Need help?”

The burning girl smiles kindly and gives her cheeks a small squeeze, “No worries here, Gura. These shits belong to-”

Before she could even finish her sentence, all ten were already reduced to smoke.

Gura giggles, “I thought  _ you  _ told us to not take our eyes off the enemy!” With a grunt, Gura lets body fall and land safely on the ground, tail swinging happily at Kiara's beaten expression.

“Oops. Didn’t see you there, chief.” Amelia comments with a sly smile, leisurely twirling her knife on one finger without hurting herself.

Kiara’s glare hardened on the blonde. She opens her mouth a couple of times, but ultimately decides not to argue. This leads to Kiara angrily walking up to a distracted Calli and bumping her head on her shoulder.

The knight shouts and starts scolding the saddened bird.

Ame and Gura share a fist bump.

“You know you shouldn’t do that to the person that saved your lives.” Ina scolds lightly, “You won’t know when she might abandon us.”

Gura waves her dismissively, not the least worried about being abandoned by the person who practically took care of them for the past two years, “Well she can abandon Watson for all I care, but she can’t abandon me! I’m cute!”

The aqualian lets out a yelp when a hard slap lands on her shoulder, “Just because you're cute doesn’t mean you can do anything.”

She chuckles, “Wow, Watson finally admits I’m cute.”

“I have agreed to nothing.”

“Calli!!” Kiara bemoaned, calling out to her best friend with teary eyes. The shadowling was already meters away from the crying warrior, red flushing her cheeks. Something probably happened. Again.

Ina sighs, poor priestess having so much emotional repairs to do for this mentally unstable group. She straightens her posture and starts moving to meet with the other two, probably try to solve this pointless issue.

She motions for Ame and Gura to follow her, “This is going to take all afternoon…” She whispers in dismay.

~

Surprisingly, it didn’t take all afternoon. The situation was quickly solved with Calli apologising for being too harsh, and they got to work navigating their way to Ynarinma.

Amelia watches Gura closely, the aqualian was focused on learning what and how Kiara was doing to find the right coordinates and their exact location. Kiara was always the one to lead the way, that was just how fate made their team.

Gathering some courage, she moves from her place. Slowly, she crawls toward Gura’s seat, with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face.

She pats her shoulder, “Oi.” Gura’s focus popped and she looked over her shoulder, smiling at Ame who comfortably took a seat beside her and watched Kiara do her thing.

“D’ya need something, Ame?”

Amelia glances her way, “Yeah. Remember that favour you owe me earlier?” She flexes her shoulders, suddenly grinning from ear to ear. The dread that entered the aqualian’s face was hilarious that Amelia simply giggled at, “Don’t worry, it’s not much.”

She pouts, pulling her knees to her chest. “Not much, she says. From the time I’ve known you,  _ everything  _ is a little bit too much…”

“Oh don’t be like that.” Gura huffs, looking away slightly but still keeping note of Kiara. “Come on, Gura… it was one time.”

“ _ Fine _ !!” She concedes, “What it is? If it’s something really stupid, I’m going to throw you to that lava pit we passed by.”

“Pft, bet that you get lost before you can even get there.” She clamped her mouth shut when Gura gave her a sharp glare, “Sorry. So… I wanna hear a story from you.”

A confused look crosses Gura’s face, “Story? From me?” Ame nods, “W-what?” She awkwardly scratches the back of her neck, pink starts tinting her cheeks, “But it isn’t even story time… and I don’t know what kind of story I can tell you.”

“Well I already have a topic.” Her eyebrows shot up in interest. The action brings out an amused chuckle from Ame, “Why did you search for me?”

“Oh…”

Amelia watches closely how a crease forms above her nose.

“Umm…” She trails off.

Reading her face, panic fills Amelia’s nerves, “Oh I’m sorry, I didn’t know that this topic was off limits. I’ll wait for when-”

“No no, Ame. It’s fine.” She giggles at the embarrassed flush on Amelia’s face, “I just don’t know how to tell a story. It’s always been the others telling me.”

“That’s fine. I just wanna know the reason behind it. And also want to know how you know Ina.”

She points a finger to herself, “Me and Ina? Oh yeah, no one knows how I met her…”

“Wait really? Even Kiara?”

She shrugs, “I dunno, probably.”

“Then that means I’ll be the first one to know! That’s great! I can tell spoilers for our next Story Time.” Her gremlin chuckle brings a small glance from the others and smiling to themselves to see the usual Amelia up to usual things. “So! Tell me.”

Gura shakes her head when she catches herself falling in Amelia’s eyes again. “Everyone knows that Ina’s a priestess right?...”

===

“So you’re a priestess for an important clan?”

Ina almost giggles at the curiosity behind this child’s eyes. She was cute.

Ina was going for a walk by the shore just outside her clan’s territory. She was feeling lonely inside the house with Nee going out on a mission while Kiara and Calli had already left for Diŕlevoùr.

She sang to herself, watching how the waves hit the bottom of the rock she sat on and retreated to do it again when she felt a sudden presence by her side.

When she turned to check what it was, her heart melted when two big blue eyes stared back at hers. She asked if the girl was lost, receiving a surprising answer of her age confusing Ina of how she acts and how old she was.

She nodded and went back to watching the waves splash, “Yes I am. And what about, Gura?”

She tilts her head cutely, “Me? Oh, I serve Second in Command for the royal family of Őzeanâ! I was given a three week vacation to- uhh... NOTHING! I was simply given a three week vacation to reward for my hard work.”

Ina chokes on her own saliva. Her status was far higher than hers in Kingdom Hierarchy, with a scan from top to bottom, this girl doesn’t even look like she can carry an iron sword.

She slumps her shoulders, “‘Second in Command’ huh? That must’ve been a hard task.”

“Yeah it was stressful sometimes, but when you love the job time just flies by in a blink of an eye.” A look of fondness enters Gura’s face that further enlightens Ina’s curiosity about the girl.

“How long have you served the Royal Family?”

“Uhh…” She brings her hands out, counting like a child would when learning numbers. “Well… umm… I started when I was... now I’m… uh..”

“18 years?” Gura nods enthusiastically and Ina chuckles, “Wow, that’s pretty long. You’re a good fighter to start out that early.”

“Of course I am! I single-handedly won the tournament three times just to prove that I am fit to become a Royal Guard.”

“Impressive.” Ina says, “So Gura, why were you given a three week vacation?”

The aqualian opens and closes her mouth, she chuckles sheepishly. “I’m not allowed to tell you that…”

Ina inhales, “Well as far as my spell works, the reason behind why you’re hiding it from me is different from the reason of your vacation.” With a snap of her finger, her grimoire came floating by her side.

“WHEN DID YOU CAST A SPELL?!”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters right now is the reason, you aren’t a spy from the Northern Ninomae Clan aren’t you?”

“What?! No! This is the first time I even know such Clans existed.”

“I can’t take that as an answer.” The sky darkened above them, dark clouds swirling threateningly like the strong emotion behind Ina's eyes.

Panicked, Gura sits up. “Eh?! Wait wait wait! Lady Ina, please wait!”

“You have ten seconds to confess.”

The clouds flashed and rumbled and Gura seemed to fall more and more into panic. The seconds ticked down and the clouds only darkened, magic oozing out as if it was already at its full capacity. This is definitely not a spell a simple priestess can pull off. 

Gura’s tail twitched, “I WAS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE!”

Her confession was sudden, momentarily distracting Ina from casting her spell. The dark clouds above them rumbles even more but now, Ina wasn't the one who was controlling it.

Gura looks back down at Ina, face scrunched up in confusion, “Shit. I confessed!”

“And I lost control!

“Well fuck.” Now she fell in panic mode.

Gura looks from Ina then the clouds then the sea. The shark sighs, adjusting her collar and pulling her sleeves. Her tail swinging from left to right as she crouches, stretching her legs then her arms and back.

“What are you doing..?”

She looks up, facing the dark clouds with determination. “You’ll see.” Was all she said before stretching her arm to the ocean. When Ina was about to ask what she was doing again, something blue flew from the water and onto Gura’s hand.

The aqualian didn’t even hesitate to jump when another rumble made their insides do some dances. Gura enters the cloud.

“GURA!”

Light flashes with Gura’s silhouette. Another rumble echoes and Gura was falling down from the clouds, holding her weapon up above. Ina was about to move and catch her yet stopped herself catching a glimpse of lightning crawling from the clouds to her weapon and small body.

She reaches the land with a loud boom, like a clack of thunder and the clouds start to disappear.

Ina worriedly stands from the rock and runs toward where Gura had fallen. She stopped when she found the girl standing there, holding a huge trident, like she didn’t just absorb lightning from a mid-class magic cloud.

“What were you thinking?!” Ina slides down to Gura’s side.

The girl smiles widely her way, “I’m immune to thunder, don’t worry! I’m fine!” Gura throws her trident to the side and holds her hands up.

“What?! Then why did you look so panicked when I threatened you earlier?!”   


“A! I was worried you were doing some kind of suicide? That always happens back in Őzeanâ with all of the thugs.”

“I’m a  _ priestess _ for the chicken’s sake…”

“Yeah but you still would’ve been hurt.”

“I can  _ cast a spell  _ to protect me.”

“Oh…” Gura starts laughing, “Oh gosh, I must’ve looked really stupid back there!” she holds her hand out. “Okay umm… my trait allows me to store and discharge electricity, see.” she snaps her fingers and a flow of electricity sizzled from her thumb and middle finger.

Well that explains it. Ina sighs, “Alright... but still I wanna know who this person you're looking for?”

Gura clicks her tongue, “Damn and here I am thinking that I was safe.” She kneels to grab her weapon, stopping when Ina glares. “A. Don’t worry, I was just going to throw this back to the ocean…” She stayed true to her word and threw the huge fork in the ocean.

“Now… talk.”

“Someone broke into my home last night. She didn’t steal anything from me, but she did wake me up.” The poor explanation made Ina even more confused. “We had a small fight but nothing big happened, she was far more experienced than I am even with one arm. We talked after that and she gave me a head pat! So now I’m—”

“Hold on hold on. Chotto chotto. This girl can breathe underwater and has one arm and snuck into your house. You had a fight then talked it out and then she gave you a not-so-suspicious-at-all head pat.”

“You speak Japanese?”

“Please don’t stray away from the conversation.”

“Oh, sorry. Well, head pats are a sign of affection and confession of love down there, so it means a lot to me. And she wasn’t suspicious when we began talking, in fact I really felt safe around her.”

“Okay okay… so you’re just out here looking for her.”

“Yup! Nothing suspicious here!”

Ina searches for some kind of malice on her face, sighing when she finds none. This girl was serious. It worried Ina for her safety in the near future, no doubt she will just get herself into trouble. She better help or she might never, “What’s her name?”

“I don’t know!”

“Huh!?”

Gura pats her pockets and fishes some kind of paper out and hands it to Ina, “But she did give me this photo. There’s a name behind it but I’m not sure if it’s her.”

“Well what does she look like?”

“Blonde hair and the bluest of eyes. She had uhh… shoulder length hair that she pulls up in a ponytail. She looked really beautiful.”

…

“Lady Ina?”

“Please tell me this is not who I think it is…”

“..?”

===

“And that’s how I met Ina!”

…

“And probably how I met Ame’s Mom…”

Amelia stares at her for a minute. So did the others, except Ina, stared in some kind of confusion.

Moments later, Kiara began laughing loudly. She came to Gura’s side to ruffle her hair, “Oh gosh! Gura was  _ lovestruck _ !”

Gura’s face flushed a deep red and turned to glare at Kiara, “HEY!”

“That’s sooo adorable! Gura’s in love!”

“No I’m not! I just wanted to know her name, that’s all!”

Kiara wraps her arms around her, pulling her in for a hug, “And you didn’t even know  _ anything  _ about the surface world! If only Calli and I didn’t go home so early, we would’ve met!”

“Did that really happen?” Calli asks the priestess who sat quietly by the fire. Ina gave her a single nod, ears pulling down as if she was tired of hearing this story again after years.

Meanwhile, Watson just sat there thinking if it _really_ was her dead mom that visited Gura that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write :')


	5. A Meeting of Awkwardness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amelia and Gura finally meet after a long day. Their meeting is definitely something else.

“So how _did you_ meet Amelia? You just told us how you met Ina.” Calli voices, her curiosity showing much more strongly than she had initially thought. In this group, how Ina met the other two was a mystery for Calli and Kiara, the reason behind it was simply because no one asked. Which is stupid the more she puts her thought to it.

“Hmm? Oh yeah! I… should probably tell you guys that.” She says, scratching her cheek with a sheepish laugh. And because the reason was no one asking, when _someone_ asks, it surprises them in a way that the stories were quickly forgotten for a moment or two. Now the reason behind _this_? Nothing in particular really, they're simply stupid when the time comes.

“It seems we’ll be having Story Time early today.” Ina comments, motioning for Kiara to sit next to her and give Gura some space to recollect the events of what happened. Also because she was cold.

Kiara didn't hesitate to huddle closer, adjusting her posture so she can generate heat between them and warm up the chilling priestess. “Story Time? Right now?" She chuckles, "I couldn’t have asked for something better! Tell us a good one, Gura!”

“Oh this story..?” Amelia says, slumping forward to bury her face in her hands. Knowing her friends, they were going to tease her non-stop for the next weak for this.

“SHUSH! NO SPOILERS!” Kiara hisses.

“Why don’t you start the story Ame?” Ina suggests, throwing a few more firewood to their campfire.

“Sure...”

===

“Looking for me? What do you mean?” Amelia asks, suspicion rising second by second the longer she talks to the young priestess. There was something that was an anomaly in this conversation.

Lady Ina hums, placing a finger to her chin as she pondered for a moment. Then groans loudly, “It’s hard for me to explain without the real perpetrator here, but yes. Someone is looking or you.”

“What’s their business?”

Ina sighs, this girl was similar to the Knights who weekly inspect their Clan, saying that they might have a secret plan to rule over the Kingdom. “That knowledge depends if you follow me or not. She specifically told me to hold it off for a surprise.” She holds her hand up when Amelia opens her mouth, “I’m sorry, Miss Watson, but this is what she and I agreed upon. I cannot go over the contract.”

“I think... I can't trust you.” Amelia tucks her hands in her coat pockets, fingers tracing her weapons, ready to pounce whenever the other is perceived as a real threat.

She rolled her eyes, “I advise you not to do that in the presence of a priestess, Miss Watson.” Ina warns, eyes slowly shifting to a deep blue showing her seriousness.

Amelia _feels_ the magic oozing out of her, it overwhelms her for a moment.The girl clicks her tongue and raises her hands as means of surrender, and places them on her head. “Geez, do you have a detector spell or something?”

“Humans easily show their emotions through their eyes, so maybe I do.” She says, her reply causing Amelia to smirk at that. “Anyway, back to business. Are you coming or not?”

She turns her head, “No can do. I have a family to take care of.” Said family was probably reading the newspaper like an old man, smoking his cigar. Though unlikely, “And like I said, I don’t trust people like you.”

Ina’s ears perked up, “Excuse me?”

“Hmm? Oh did I offend you somehow, My Lady?”

“What you said was misleading, Miss Watson. May you please specify _what kind of people I am_?” Her tone was sharp. Ame grins mentally, she was cute when she's angry.

Deciding that walking away is the only option before this ticking time bomb explodes, she turns around and begins walking away. “You know what I mean. You know what your kind did to us lowlife people.”

Ina scoffs at the attitude. Was that really the person Gura says was ‘warm’ and ‘safe’, all Ina could see was a toxic tongue and someone who will resort to violence the minute she doesn’t feel like ‘chatting around’.

“Unbelievable…” She murmured before casting a teleportation spell to the place she and her companion had been staying for the past week. “I’m going to have a talk about Gura’s mental health, because _that person_? Was not safe one bit.” She doesn't know if it was how that human was right or how she was feeling guilty –maybe a bit of both- but she felt like she could destroy a mountain at this moment.

She enters the Inn’s lobby, flashing a wave and smiling at the receptionist before sighing heavily when she reaches the flight of stairs.

Gura gives off an aura of a person that’s oblivious to the things around her. Or straight up, just someone who’s stupid to think that _Amelia Watson_ , of all the people, could be warm and safe like how she described. It was probably just a dream or something, but that also isn’t a factor because she received a physical object from this person.

Ina opens the door to their room, “I’m back!” She called out, and the minute she took off her shoes, Gawr Gura was by the entrance smiling excitedly at her.

She approached the door while Ina flops down on the long chair provided by the Inn. From the corner of her eyes, she felt sympathetic how Gura looked from left to right outside their door only to confusingly look back at Ina, hurt already swirling behind her eyes.

The aqualian walks up to her slowly, fingers fiddling with each other nervously.

“So…” She starts, “Where’s Ame?”

Ina almost laughs to herself, she even gave the rude human a nickname. She waves, “I’m tired…”

“W-what happened?”

“She didn’t want to come. She said that I was too suspicious of my bloodline.” _Like her own bloodline wasn’t a red flag on it’s own,_ “It’s no use Gura, you should go back to Őzeanâ before their majesty sends out a search party for you…”

Ina regrets her choice of words when she turns to look at Gura’s face. Eyes glassed with held back tears and a quivering lip. She opened her arms and the aqualian didn’t hesitate to lean in for a hug. “It’s okay, Gura…”

Her sniffles were muffled by the cloth of Ina’s robe. “I really wanted to surprise her…”

“Really?”

“Mmhm…” She replies with a small nod, a broken nod.

“Could you tell me what for?”

“I was an outcast back in Őzeanâ… the real reason I was so persistent to become Second-in-Command wasn’t because to show them that I had power and isn’t someone to be messed with… I just wanted someone to praise me…” She inhales, shaky and broken. “That girl came by and the first thing she did was hug me… whispered to my ear that I _finally_ did a good job!.. I really _really_ wanted to thank her but before I knew it she was gone...“

“Oh Gura…” Guilt washed over the priestess. This poor warrior felt so heavy in her arms by the exhaustion she felt of the world around her.

Gura wasn’t stupid… she was simply reacting to something that was so foreign for her. She's still a child. A child who was neglected of affection that she openly seeks to this day. She wasn't stupid at all. She was just desperate.

She steeled her face, “Hey. Why don’t we go to her?”

Gura looks up, eyes filled with tears and cheeks damp. “W-what are you talking about..?” She said, scrunching up in confusion.

“Let’s go confront her and tell her how you feel.” She slowly stands, both hands holding Gura’s hands, tugging her out of the couch.

“But I don’t want to force her if she doesn’t want to see me.”

Ina settled them in a slow dance, she steps forward and back, “But~ she doesn’t know that it was _you_ that wanted to see her.”

“I don’t know… the more I look at the picture and the memory in my mind, I’m starting to think it wasn’t her that comforted me.”

“I noticed that the moment you handed me the picture.”

“Yeah… are you sure this’ll be a good idea..?”

Ina grabs Gura by her waist and lifts her to the air, the aqualian squawking at the action. “I know so. But they do have some similarities right?” Gura nods, “See?”

Gura looks down at the floor, thinking.

“Hey, Gura?” The aqualian looks up and Ina pats her head, “Don’t think about it too much, I already have a plan. You’ll just have to tell her that you’re thankful ‘kay?”

She nods before stepping forward to give Ina a hug. “Thanks, Ina…”

The priestess simply smiles down and hugs her back.

~

Tristan hums to himself as he folds their laundry, trying his best to pry away the worry feeling he has in his gut. He knows very well that his niece can handle herself in a battle or when she’s kidnapped. Those instances happening more times he wants to count.

Still, Amelia was still his sister’s daughter, of course he’d be worried. She was the only thing that's left of his sister.

He hears the door faintly creaks open and closes. Immediately knowing who it was, he called. “I’m in the bedroom!”

Amelia greets him there, she walks to the bed to flop down face first, groaning loudly. Someone was on a foul mood, he thinks distantly, placing some of the folded clothes and closed the cabinet to facing his niece.

“How’d it go?” He asked, already expecting what answer he'd be given.

“Stupid.” Came her muffled response.

Tristan stayed quiet for a moment, waiting for her to continue this conversation. That wasn’t the case the longer the silence hovered above them and Tristan knows what mood this was. He sighed heavily, “Stupid huh? How stupid?”

She faces the side, “As in… the whole Watson Religion stupid.”

“Oh that’s bad.” Tristan exits the room, “Did you say something weird or did the Priestess say something weird. Though the latter doesn’t really match her personality.”

“What do you mean doesn’t match her personality? Have you met her or something?”

He walks back to the room, carrying a glass of grape juice, “Probably, probably not. Who knows.”

Amelia groans, “Of course you’ve met her. That’s the only useful thing our traits can do…”

He stares at his niece for one moment, feeling deja vu hit him at the situation at hand. He takes a sip, “Don’t say that…" He mumbles, looking away when the image of his sister replaced his niece. "...our trait is special.”

“What’s so special about a Time Trait?”

“It’s hereditary.”

“If I were to choose, I wouldn’t want my children to have our trait. This just feels so fucking stupid… ow!” She sits up and hiss angrily at her Uncle who had just bonked her head.

Though her expression softened when she saw the look in his eyes. She’d seen that a long time ago, a long long time ago but it wasn’t from him. It was her own Mother. Guiltily, she looks away, still caressing her head.

He places a hand on her shoulder, “Your trait might feel useless right now… but I can assure you that what our family has is important. You get it?” She nods, “Good. Now come here and give this old man a hug. I’m seeing my sister instead of my niece here.”

She snorts and bumps her head on his shoulder, letting him wrap his arms around her. Slowly, her breath evens out and she feels comfortable in his arms.

‘Having family to take care of’ her ass, it was the other way. It has always been the other way.

Amelia shakes her head, shaking the thoughts of her deceased big brother out of her mind to hug Tristan.

~

“Amelia! Someone’s looking for you!”

She looks up from her studies, raising an eyebrow at the closed door. With a sigh, she closes her notebook and stands. Who was looking for her _now_? This was the second time this day someone was looking at her.

“Hey, sport!” Tristan greets, patting her shoulder as he passes her. “They’re in the living room by the way.”

She suspiciously follows where he was going, face scrunching in confusion. “And where are you going?”

He stops moving. “Uhh… I left my pocket watch under my bed. I’ll be right there with you, don’t worry, _Sunshine_.” She scoffs at the dry display of affection, smirking to herself at his attitude.

If these people are disguised as those in the Watson Religion, Amelia wouldn’t hesitate to engage in battle. They really need to stop chasing her everywhere she goes, that’s just straight up creepy. She has studies to focus on here y'know?

She freezes when she reaches the bottom of her stairs.

“Miss Watson. Good evening.” Ina greets with a kind smile, much more kinder than the one she showed earlier by the Port.

“W-what are you doing here…?” She adjusts her glasses and walks toward Ina with an angry look. “Didn’t I tell you I’m not going anywhere with you people? Are you going to force me now? Bribe my Uncle with your dirty money.”

Ina sighs, “Still foul mouthed, I see…” Amelia was ready to explode, “But no… we’re not looking for a fight. Since my client is desperate to meet you, I thought I’d bring her to you instead.”

“Huh?”

Right on time, a girl with white girl enters the household with quiet footsteps. Amelia watches as the girl looks from left to right, drawing in her surroundings with a warm smile on her face. When she turns, their eyes met and Amelia felt a bit overwhelmed at the affection her eyes showcased.

After a beat, the white girl began walking toward her.

“I want you to meet the one who was looking for you.” Was what she heard Ina say from a distance but she was focused on _her_. This girl...

The girl holds her hand out for Amelia to hold, “My name’s Gawr Gura. It’s nice to finally meet you, Ame!” She blushes and looks away, “Uhh, sorry. Can I call you Ame?”

This girl felt familiar. Amelia shakes her hand, “Um yeah. You can call me whatever you want…” She bows her head slightly, “I-it’s nice to meet you as well, Gura…”

Ina stands and makes her way to the door, “Now that that’s done, Gura say what you want to say and we’ll get going. Your vacation is ending by Midnight.”

Gura nods at the priestess. She turns back to the frozen Amelia Watson and hands her something. “Someone who looks like you comforted me from the week before last week and I didn’t get to tell her ‘thank you’. This is the only thing I have of her and I wanna give this to you as a means of thank you.” Gura blushes and darts out of the house, “Thank you, Watson!”

“Wait-”

**_Poof!_ **

The two were already gone by a puff of smoke.

===

“You just… left?” Calli asks, confused why the two left so early when Amelia had something she wanted to say.

“Well it was almost Midnight by then… We... _kinda_ spent the whole afternoon and evening cuddling.” Ina says sheepishly.

“I still feel sorry for crying that long. Sorry ‘bout that, Ina.”

The priestess smiles in reply. "Oh by the way, Ame." She looks at her, "Do you still have the photograph?"

Watson stares at her for a moment or two, "Nope."

"WHAT?!"

This group of folks were interesting in their own ways, they have their own charms and strengths. Maybe it was fate that brought them together, because all five can certainly agree how much it means to them to be by each other’s side.

With more journeys to stride to, the gang sleeps another night in and awaits their future!

===

“Successful?”

“Yes.”

He waves his way, not taking his eyes away from the screen in front of him.

“Name: Amelia Watson  
Trait: Unknown  
XXX: Daughter of Terressa Watson

Name: Mori Calliope  
Trait: Unknown  
XXX: Daughter of Samuel Mori”

“Good. The first stage of our plan will now commence. Prepare a fleet to Őzeanâ, we are to target the Royal Family.”

“Understood, Commander Watson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this prologue! Be on high alert for the Main Story to begin because I think I'll be dropping it a little early than I intend which is next Friday but who knows?
> 
> What are your thoughts on 'XXX'?

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a whole outline of a story in one night while drunk. This is just a four-five chapter Prologue to let ya'll familiarise on this world I'm about to let you fall into.


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